News
Controversy Continues In Middletown Over Athletic Field Proposal
By Ryan Fennell
LINCROFT- Controversy continues to swirl around a proposed plan by the Middletown Township Committee to construct a multi-purpose athletic field at the intersection of West Front Street and Everett Road in Lincroft.
Residents from the potentially affected area once again came out en masse to voice their opposition to the proposal as it currently stands and urged the committee to reconsider constructing the field at a different location.
However, this round of rhetoric included supporters of the proposal primarily from active Pop Warner families, athletes, coaches, and members of the Middletown Athletic Club.
The most telling message sent to the committee might have come from Kevin O'Reilly, Vice President of the River Plaza Chargers, whose future home has been an ongoing topic of conversation among the committee members, the board of education, and area residents but has not, until Monday night, included the River Plaza Chargers organization.
Middletown Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger opened the meeting by allowing those in attendance to speak to this issue but not before he addressed the crowd with an update from the committee's perspective.
"We sent a letter to the Board of Education today officially asking them to allow the Pop Warner league to use High School South for their games. I think that will go a long way to solving a lot of the problems and be the best solution for all parties involved," Scharfenberger said.
Deputy Mayor Anthony Fiore also offered an updated position on the issue.
"My position (at the previous meeting) was to find a way for River Plaza Pop Warner to play five or six games at High School South. From what I understand it's not feasible to redo the facility at Trezza Field (the Chargers current home field). It's my viewpoint, if we are able to work with the Board of Education and potentially make improvements to their field we would not have to have lights or a P.A. system at West Front Street," Fiore said.
Fiore added that the idea would be that the Pop Warner teams practice at Trezza and play their games at High School South. Fiore also noted that the existing soccer fields at West Front Street would still be resurfaced and improved but without lighting and a public address system.
"I think that pretty much satisfies everything I've heard over the last month," Fiore said.
Not according to O'Reilly.
The River Plaza Pop Warner league sent a letter to the Township Committee outlining eight needs of the league to continue operating regardless of its location. One of those needs was a fully functioning snack bar. Additionally as important were adequate restroom facilities.
According to O'Reilly, the Pop Warner league exists solely on the revenues generated by the operation of the snack bar of which High School South does not provide.
"I wish you people would speak to us because Middletown South doesn't work," O'Reilly said. "We play on Saturday, we play on Sunday, we play on Monday, and we also sometimes play on Wednesday and all of our revenue is from the snack bar."
The money generated by the snack bar, which can range between four and seven thousand dollars each game day goes toward operational costs to run the league according to O'Reilly.
"To redo the helmets is thousands and thousands of dollars," O'Reilly said.
While O'Reilly admitted that it is a great concept for the Pop Warner kids to get a chance to play games at a facility of the quality of South's, it presents significant logistical challenges for the league.
According to O'Reilly the field at South does not adequately address Pop Warner's need for a fully functioning snack bar nor does it have adequate restroom facilities for the hundreds of children that participate.
O'Reilly also challenged the notion that the league could continue to practice at Trezza Field while playing games at South by posing the question of how to transport the equipment back and forth each week.
According to O'Reilly the program has grown from 160 kids to over 400 and the proposed location at West Front Street would also not adequately accommodate the game attendance demands.
"We at River Plaza will go wherever you tell us to go as long as we can maintain how we're able to fund our league right now," O'Reilly said. "Our league is funded by our snack bar. All of our revenue is from the snack bar."
O'Reilly, however, noted that the league is fairly comfortable at its present location and is not eager to relocate.
Councilman Sean Byrnes, who had remained relatively silent on the issue until this point, spoke to a possible solution.
"My assessment is this," said Byrnes. "We commissioned a recreation study and it told us what the needs of the people were, but I don't think we've done the other side of it, which is how do we implement that?"
"I don't have a feel for how many kids are in football, how many kids are in soccer, or how many kids would play lacrosse if they had a field and if we're going to make decisions about where fields go and what kind they are I should have that kind of information," Byrnes added. "I don't know what the right answer is, but I haven't seen information that allows me to make that decision."
Byrnes suggested that before going any further the committee should sit down with the BOE in an open public meeting forum and discuss, not only the turfing of various fields in the township, but the recreational needs of the township as a whole.
Despite Pop Warner's desire to stay at it's current location there was a reason the study to find a new home was conducted in the first place according to Township Administrator Anthony Mercantante.
There is currently no on-site parking at Trezza field forcing people to park on the street and several safety concerns with the condition of the field.
"It's not an adequate location for the activities that go on and it's the reason we did a Recreational Master Plan," Mercantante said.
